Travel Tips

Airport controversially bans common thing many of us do while travelling

Anyone who spends a lot of time at airports knows that travellers sleeping at a terminal is a commonplace sight.

But London's Stansted Airport has recently put a controversial motion in place, banning passengers napping inside the terminal and even closing off departures area in the evening to prevent it occurring.

In a statement, officials explained: "There are a number of reasons for the periodic overnight closures to the departures area of the terminal building: construction work as part of our £600 million airport transformation programme, and to allow cleaning and other preparations for the next day's flight operations.

"This means we've been reminding passengers there are no dedicated sleeping facilities in the terminal and advising they can no longer sleep on the floor overnight, so passengers should not arrive sooner than their scheduled check-in time."

A spokesperson said that in the past the airport was seeing as many as 600 passengers staying overnight inside the terminal, with some bringing in "camp beds, sleeping bags and other portable sleeping aids".

The spokesperson added: "Feedback shows passengers don't like arriving at the airport for an early flight to find lots of people blocking access and getting in the way of both staff and those travelling.

"We don't want people sleeping on the floor or coming with sleeping equipment. There are numerous options available to avoid doing this, both at the airport and close by, with lots of hotels, B&Bs, Airbnb choices, plus 24-hour coach services."

The airport stressed that people are still allowed to sleep upright in a chair and in the case of passengers stuck in the terminal following delayed or cancelled departure flights from that day, those who have not been accommodated in a hotel by their airline will be "managed separately outside of these restrictions".

What do you think of the ban on sleeping at airports? Are you for or against it? Let us know in the comments below.